Congratulations! You made it! You survived and excelled in your student teaching. You are now a science teacher! If you would, take a few minutes to share your wisdom about how to negotiate this difficult year with the students who are following in your footsteps by answering the following questions.
a. What are some things students should do in their fall practicum to make their student teaching go more smoothly?
The most important thing to make student teaching go more smoothly is to visit the classes you will student teach as much as possible. Spend as much time with the individual classes you will be teaching as you can, the better you know the students, and the more they recognize you as a teacher with the authority and respect of their regular teacher, the smoother the transition will be when you start.
Another thing I would suggest is to arrange with your cooperating teacher(s) to be able to give at least one lesson complete with an assignment that you are responsible for grading to each class you will be teaching in the spring, and then do a reflective piece on it. It helps break the ice, even if it is a few months before you officially take over, the majority of the students will have the opportunity to have at least been exposed to your teaching style and grading policies before you completely take over. It also helps you take that important first step in leading a lesson all by yourself, and it's better to do that in the fall when it is just one or two lessons than in the Spring when it will be every day. Once you do this, take time to reflect about it. Use the reflection questions in the RIDE lesson plan template and really think about the lesson, how it went, what could be better, etc. This is especially helpful if you give that same lesson more than once (giving to each section you will take over) so that you can see the natural process of how you tweak your delivery based on one class's responses.
A third suggestion for the fall would be to look at the school calendar, figure out the timeframe you will be in the class with the students, and then look at the curriculum the CT has planned. Do not just focus on the unit you write for 430, but make sure you fully understand the units preceeding and following, because chances are you will be teaching parts, if not all, of those as well. Make sure you understand how the unit you write affects the units that come after it and what groundwork you need to lay for the students to be able to smoothly transition to the next unit. Make sure you understand the timing of school vacations, days off, and when midterms and end of quarters are. These all can impact pacing of a unit, whether because you have to speed it up to finish by a certain date, or build in review to jog the students' memories after a week-long vacation, or any other number of issues related to it. The better you understand the entire curriculum and how the units work together, the easier it will be. You can always have a monkey wrench thrown at you in the form of the school moving the NECAPs up 2 weeks earlier with 3 days notice (just happened here!), and if you have been teaching all along the idea that all these units work together, it will be much easier to adapt and prepare than if you were viewing each as a distinct and separate idea.
A final suggestion would be to ask your CT for a copy of everything. A copy of everything they give to students while you are there, some things they give out on days you are not there, whether electronic or on paper, is worth it's weight in gold. A new teacher, even a seasoned teacher looking for new ideas will beg, borrow, and steal anything they can get their hands on. You may not use it, you may use it and change it, but every little idea is one less you have to search for later. This goes for writing your unit plan as well. Ask your CT for how they carried out the unit in the past, what materials they've used, what concepts they find students have the most difficulty with, what hasn't worked well in the past, what has worked sometimes and not others. You will still need to develop your own unit, but using someone else's knowledge and expertise goes a long way to making it easier.
b. What 430 topics/assignments should students make sure are addressed in detail to prepare them for student teaching?
I think some of the most helpful assignments were the ones asking us to watch our CT and how they respond to various things happening in their classroom. If you have more than 1 CT to watch, this is even more helpful. You can see how different teachers respond to similiar situations. The CTs really are the people who set the tone for respect, attention, engagement, and more, in their classroom, and you will just be walking into what is already established. If the room seems easy going and the students well behaved, it's likely due to subtle acts by the CT that you should observe and note, if it seems chaotic that too is cued by the CT.
Obviously the unit plan. But not just do it well to get a grade for 430 but gather as many ideas and materials as possible so that when you actually implement the lesson plan and are in front of real students who do not act or learn as you planned you have other options to fall back on. Build in ways to cover things multiple times/ways so that if something needs to be cut you can, but if you have more time you have more resources. Build in time for review, and make it a game. They love games. But be prepared for them to be petty about it! They hate to lose. Make it a game where they have to get up and move, even if it is because they can only answer certain questions in certain locations --- at least everyone has to get involved. The more effort you put into the unit plan, the easier it will be for you to use it in the classroom, but also know you will likely never use it exactly as written. And remember from above to take into account how that unit fits into the entire year so that you are prepared to teach what comes before and after and help students see how they all link together.
c. Help the next group of science education student teachers by completing the thought: "If I knew in September what I know now, I could have been better prepared for student teaching if I had ...."
Written more unit plans. Seriously. I stayed at the high school for my entire student teaching, that's a long time with the same people. Sure you have the same slow build up as everyone else, but when they are winding down to move to the next placement and then building up again, you are still plugging along with the same group, same workload. It's a long time, you will be with the first class or 2 you take over for the entire 3rd quarter by yourself, and then some more of the 4th quarter. Think about that, you are solely responsible for at least 1/4 of what they learn in that class in high school -- you better be prepared.
d. Are there other words of wisdom/encouragement that you want to share?
I suggest having a group of friends, even just 3 or 4, who are also student teaching, and going out for dinner after seminar once every 2 or 3 weeks. It's even better if they aren't science teachers -- you can have friends in science teachers too, but you see them all the time. If you have some cohorts who are teaching different subjects, at different schools, you all can take a minute to unload on each other, share funny/sad/maddening stories and get encouragement from one another. It helps you see that the students really are giving all their teachers hell at times, not just you, not just science. It helps you see the bigger picture as well as what they may be learning in other classes that you can use in your class (I really have done this at times). And most of all it gives you some time to connect with friends and just have fun, something there is never enough time for during student teaching.
If it ever gets too hard, don't hesitate to have a heart to heart talk with your CT and ask for help, or Dr. Fogleman, or another teacher who can give you ideas. They all really do want you to do well and succeed. Don't wait until you hate everyone and they hate you right back, it's too late then! And if you have an especially rough day, or if the students are being especially difficult, remember it's just 1 day, and you can always try again tomorrow, and your CT can always suggest ways to get students to give you their best, whether a new seating arrangement, phrasing questions differently, or taking a break to do a completely different activity for a day.
a. What are some things students should do in their fall practicum to make their student teaching go more smoothly?
The most important thing to make student teaching go more smoothly is to visit the classes you will student teach as much as possible. Spend as much time with the individual classes you will be teaching as you can, the better you know the students, and the more they recognize you as a teacher with the authority and respect of their regular teacher, the smoother the transition will be when you start.
Another thing I would suggest is to arrange with your cooperating teacher(s) to be able to give at least one lesson complete with an assignment that you are responsible for grading to each class you will be teaching in the spring, and then do a reflective piece on it. It helps break the ice, even if it is a few months before you officially take over, the majority of the students will have the opportunity to have at least been exposed to your teaching style and grading policies before you completely take over. It also helps you take that important first step in leading a lesson all by yourself, and it's better to do that in the fall when it is just one or two lessons than in the Spring when it will be every day. Once you do this, take time to reflect about it. Use the reflection questions in the RIDE lesson plan template and really think about the lesson, how it went, what could be better, etc. This is especially helpful if you give that same lesson more than once (giving to each section you will take over) so that you can see the natural process of how you tweak your delivery based on one class's responses.
A third suggestion for the fall would be to look at the school calendar, figure out the timeframe you will be in the class with the students, and then look at the curriculum the CT has planned. Do not just focus on the unit you write for 430, but make sure you fully understand the units preceeding and following, because chances are you will be teaching parts, if not all, of those as well. Make sure you understand how the unit you write affects the units that come after it and what groundwork you need to lay for the students to be able to smoothly transition to the next unit. Make sure you understand the timing of school vacations, days off, and when midterms and end of quarters are. These all can impact pacing of a unit, whether because you have to speed it up to finish by a certain date, or build in review to jog the students' memories after a week-long vacation, or any other number of issues related to it. The better you understand the entire curriculum and how the units work together, the easier it will be. You can always have a monkey wrench thrown at you in the form of the school moving the NECAPs up 2 weeks earlier with 3 days notice (just happened here!), and if you have been teaching all along the idea that all these units work together, it will be much easier to adapt and prepare than if you were viewing each as a distinct and separate idea.
A final suggestion would be to ask your CT for a copy of everything. A copy of everything they give to students while you are there, some things they give out on days you are not there, whether electronic or on paper, is worth it's weight in gold. A new teacher, even a seasoned teacher looking for new ideas will beg, borrow, and steal anything they can get their hands on. You may not use it, you may use it and change it, but every little idea is one less you have to search for later. This goes for writing your unit plan as well. Ask your CT for how they carried out the unit in the past, what materials they've used, what concepts they find students have the most difficulty with, what hasn't worked well in the past, what has worked sometimes and not others. You will still need to develop your own unit, but using someone else's knowledge and expertise goes a long way to making it easier.
b. What 430 topics/assignments should students make sure are addressed in detail to prepare them for student teaching?
I think some of the most helpful assignments were the ones asking us to watch our CT and how they respond to various things happening in their classroom. If you have more than 1 CT to watch, this is even more helpful. You can see how different teachers respond to similiar situations. The CTs really are the people who set the tone for respect, attention, engagement, and more, in their classroom, and you will just be walking into what is already established. If the room seems easy going and the students well behaved, it's likely due to subtle acts by the CT that you should observe and note, if it seems chaotic that too is cued by the CT.
Obviously the unit plan. But not just do it well to get a grade for 430 but gather as many ideas and materials as possible so that when you actually implement the lesson plan and are in front of real students who do not act or learn as you planned you have other options to fall back on. Build in ways to cover things multiple times/ways so that if something needs to be cut you can, but if you have more time you have more resources. Build in time for review, and make it a game. They love games. But be prepared for them to be petty about it! They hate to lose. Make it a game where they have to get up and move, even if it is because they can only answer certain questions in certain locations --- at least everyone has to get involved. The more effort you put into the unit plan, the easier it will be for you to use it in the classroom, but also know you will likely never use it exactly as written. And remember from above to take into account how that unit fits into the entire year so that you are prepared to teach what comes before and after and help students see how they all link together.
c. Help the next group of science education student teachers by completing the thought: "If I knew in September what I know now, I could have been better prepared for student teaching if I had ...."
Written more unit plans. Seriously. I stayed at the high school for my entire student teaching, that's a long time with the same people. Sure you have the same slow build up as everyone else, but when they are winding down to move to the next placement and then building up again, you are still plugging along with the same group, same workload. It's a long time, you will be with the first class or 2 you take over for the entire 3rd quarter by yourself, and then some more of the 4th quarter. Think about that, you are solely responsible for at least 1/4 of what they learn in that class in high school -- you better be prepared.
d. Are there other words of wisdom/encouragement that you want to share?
I suggest having a group of friends, even just 3 or 4, who are also student teaching, and going out for dinner after seminar once every 2 or 3 weeks. It's even better if they aren't science teachers -- you can have friends in science teachers too, but you see them all the time. If you have some cohorts who are teaching different subjects, at different schools, you all can take a minute to unload on each other, share funny/sad/maddening stories and get encouragement from one another. It helps you see that the students really are giving all their teachers hell at times, not just you, not just science. It helps you see the bigger picture as well as what they may be learning in other classes that you can use in your class (I really have done this at times). And most of all it gives you some time to connect with friends and just have fun, something there is never enough time for during student teaching.
If it ever gets too hard, don't hesitate to have a heart to heart talk with your CT and ask for help, or Dr. Fogleman, or another teacher who can give you ideas. They all really do want you to do well and succeed. Don't wait until you hate everyone and they hate you right back, it's too late then! And if you have an especially rough day, or if the students are being especially difficult, remember it's just 1 day, and you can always try again tomorrow, and your CT can always suggest ways to get students to give you their best, whether a new seating arrangement, phrasing questions differently, or taking a break to do a completely different activity for a day.